


A Squirrely Girl

by Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan



Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25779607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan/pseuds/Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan
Summary: The NCIS resident Goth always had a fondness for all living creatures. Unfortunately that also landed her in a bit of trouble. Warning: Implied character death.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	A Squirrely Girl

_A second response to the "kill off a major character" challenge. Not for Abby fans._

The blood-curdling screams could be heard inside the NCIS building, even on the top floor in the Director's office and down in Autopsy. Ziva ran to the windows to look out over the parking area and the small park-like area for employees to take a break.

"Gibbs! Tony! McGee!" she called out to her teammates. "Come quickly."

Tony reached Ziva first and she pointed towards the edge of the parking lot near one of the benches. Abby was writhing on the ground as a crowd of onlookers gathered.

Gibbs took one look and headed to the elevator, "Let's go!" He barked orders to the MCRT, "One of you call Ducky to meet us outside."

Tony pulled up the Autopsy number on his cell as the team rode down to ground level. "Yeah, Duck, meet us in the parking lot by the benches. Abby's down on the ground having some sort of seizure or spasm."

"Anybody see what happened?" Gibbs shouted at the onlookers as Tony and Ziva moved closer to Abby. "How long ago did this start?"

Tony checked for a pulse as Ziva scouted the immediate area around the Goth. She was breathing and her pulse was slightly elevated but seemed to have passed out. Ducky and Jimmy Palmer arrived with a medical bag in tow.

"Help me roll her to her side, Anthony," Ducky instructed the Senior Field Agent. As they moved the forensic scientist, Ziva pulled her cell phone from her pocket.

"Looks as though we have one deceased," she commented. She pointed to the fluffy gray tail sticking out from under Abby's lab coat as she snapped several pictures.

Tony did a double take; he had to try very hard not to make a joke at the apparently dead squirrel with its teeth locked onto the Goth's derriere. "Is that what I think it is?"

" _Sciurus carolinensis_ , also known as the eastern gray squirrel," Jimmy grabbed a pair of gloves from the medical bag and prepared to remove the squirrel to a body bag. "Cause of death appears to be crushed by human, um, backside…"

Gibbs and McGee were gathering information from the onlookers. One woman had seen almost everything that happened.

"She was trying to feed the squirrel some peanut butter crackers. She was talking to it and calling it 'cutie pie' and other silly names. The squirrel was by her feet and she reached down to give it the crackers, and lost her balance on those clunky boots of hers. The squirrel panicked and ran up her leg and then she let out that blood-curdling scream," the woman told her story. "Is she going to be okay?"

Tim shrugged, "We'll know more after Doctor Mallard examines her. Thanks for your help." He turned to Tony and Ziva, "Apparently Abby was trying to make friends with the squirrel; she lost her footing and scared the rodent. It ran up her leg and…"

Tony finished the sentence, cutting into Tim's story, "It bit her on the ass."

"Come on, Tony, that's not even funny," Tim scowled at his teammate.

"It is true, Tim. Jimmy is trying to get the squirrel loose from Abby's backside as we speak," Ziva motioned to the Goth and Jimmy on the ground. The ME Assistant was carefully removing the teeth from the fleshy part of the Goth's bottom.

As Jimmy removed the last tooth from the skin, Ducky swabbed the bite with an alcohol wipe and then tucked a gauze pad over the wound, using Abby's underwear to hold it in place. Once inside Autopsy, he would further assess the bite and clean it properly.

The sting of the alcohol helped the Goth come to; she moved away from the touch. "Ouch!" she complained as she tried to look over her side.

"Hold still, Abigail," Ducky commanded. "Let me get this gauze pad in place so we can transport you inside. I still need to get a full examination of the bite."

"Bite?" Abby was a bit confused still.

"You were bit by a squirrel, Abs," Gibbs stood where the Goth could see him. "Duck's gonna check it out inside. Okay?"

Two junior agents arrived with the stretcher from the ME van; they helped Jimmy lift Abby on, placing her in a prone position.

Tony nudged Tim and Ziva, 'Who'da thought our Goth was a plain white cotton panties type? I woulda figured a black lace thong…"

Tim gave Tony a frown as Ziva put her finger over Tony's mouth. Tony and Ziva followed the stretcher, Gibbs, Ducky, and Jimmy back to the building. Tim stayed behind and gathered Abby's tote bag, phone, and the remains of her lunch.

Inside, Gibbs followed the group to Autopsy and motioned to Tony and Ziva to head back upstairs, "Write up a report with what we know so far."

"White cotton granny panties," Tony murmured to Ziva, shaking his head. "I can't believe it…"

Ziva put her finger over his mouth again, "Making jokes about Abby's underwear is not appropriate for everyone to hear…" She shoved him into the open door of the empty elevator and quickly pressed the 'door close' button. "Even though you are correct; it IS funny to think of her as the white cotton type. I too would have figured black thong." They grinned at each other.

Down in Autopsy, Ducky was examining the wound on Abby's posterior as Jimmy dissected the squirrel. He opened the skull to examine the brain tissue of the deceased rodent.

"Um, Doctor Mallard, um, we, um, have a small problem," the ME assistant called out to his supervisor. "There appears to be a lot of dead tissue in the squirrel's brain. Should I retrieve specimens for FAT scan for rabies? Sorry, Gibbs, that's…"

"Fluorescent antibody test," Gibbs spoke for the first time since entering Autopsy. "If there's any chance the squirrel was rabid, do it."

Jimmy looked to Ducky who nodded for the younger man to go ahead with the samples. He prepared the small dish of brain matter smear and added the rabies antibody. He sealed the dish and set it to the side.

"It will take about an hour, Jethro," Ducky explained. "After which, Mr. Palmer can examine the sample under the fluorescing microscope in Abigail's lab. Since there is a chance of rabies, I will administer the first injection of rabies immune globulin now." He began filling the syringe as he spoke.

"Abigail, this is going to be somewhat painful; I will have to administer the injection close to the bite from the squirrel," Ducky explained to the Goth.

Abby bit her lip, "Do I HAVE to get the shot?"

"If the squirrel is indeed rabid, the sooner we can get the first injection, the better," Ducky replied. "If it is not, we still have erred on the side of caution."

Two hours later, Abby's bite wound was in a fresh dressing with antibiotic ointment applied. Jimmy had the results from the FAT; the squirrel had rabies. Ducky broke the news to Abby and then explained the regimen of injections for the next fourteen days. She would receive four more injections in the arm over the two week period.

Three days later, the Goth showed up for her first injection of the series. She sat on one of the steel autopsy tables as Ducky prepared the syringe.

"Ducky, do I HAVE to get the shot? I really feel fine," the Goth whined.

"Yes, Abigail, you must have all four shots, even if you feel okay. We don't want you coming down with rabies, because if you DO, then it will almost certainly be fatal," the old doctor explained.

Abby grimaced as the needle pierced her skin, "Oh, okay. I really would like to live. I guess I can put up with three more shots in the arm."

"Now lie face down so that I may check the puncture wound from the squirrel," Ducky commanded the forensic scientist. "Have you changed the dressing as I instructed you?"

"Um… yeah… as best as I could…"

Ducky removed the dressing over the bite and examined the puncture marks, "Hmmm… they seem to be healing nicely." He dabbed some more antibiotic ointment on the scabs and replaced the dressing with a fresh one. "There you go, my dear. Please come back for the next injection in four days."

On the fourteenth day, the day of the last injection in the series, Abby was fidgeting where she sat on the autopsy table. "Come on, Ducky... " She wondered where the doctor and Jimmy could be as she knew they weren't out on a case. She planned to meet a friend for lunch at a cafe up the street from the Navy Yard after the shot.

"That was a most interesting and informative webinar about animal bites," Ducky commented to his assistant as they stepped into Autopsy.

"And we have our own case as a yardstick to compare with the information we learned," Jimmy added. "Although how many people are bit on the buttocks by a…" he trailed off as he spotted Abby sitting impatiently on the steel table.

"Ah, Abigail, you are here for your last injection, I presume?" Ducky hung up his outer coat and hat.

"Yeah, Ducky and I'm kinda in a hurry today," she replied.

Ducky prepared the syringe for the injection, "How have you been feeling? No symptoms of rabies I presume?"

Abby shook her head, "I'm feeling great, Ducky. Let's just get this over with so I can go have lunch with my friend at the outdoor cafe up the street. I haven't seen her in AGES." She winced as the needle pierced her skin on her upper arm.

Ducky pressed a cotton ball to Abby's arm and withdrew the needle. He put a bandaid over the cotton, "You are done with the injections, dear girl. Go enjoy your lunch; it is a fine day to be outside."

Abby hopped off the steel table and ran to the elevator. She waved to Jimmy and Ducky as the doors closed so she could rise to the ground floor. Once out the doors of the main entrance, she sent a text message to her friend that she was on the way, walking to the cafe to have lunch.

Part of the walk to the cafe went past a park along the Anacostia River. Abby was walking on the sidewalk along the street-side border of the park when two squirrels ran out from the hedges. The Goth shrieked at the sight of the gray rodents. One of them stood up on its hind legs and chattered at her, scolding the woman in black.

The other squirrel lunged and Abby shrieked again, turning to run from the animal. No way was she going to be bit by another squirrel. She ran blindly towards the street, darting out from between two parked cars into the moving traffic. She never heard the horns of the cars nor of the bus that she ran into…

"Grab your gear," Gibbs barked at the MCRT.

"Where we going, Boss?" Tony grabbed his bag as did the others.

"Out front; Navy Yard personnel hit by a bus," the team leader gave all the information that he had as the four entered the elevator.


End file.
